Cloud Types

It’s a beautiful day today. Maddie and Kiara are observing clouds and drawing them in their science notebooks. They are also playing a game where they guess what shape the cloud is. Do you want to play?

Here’s a cloud now. What do you see in the cloud?

Kiara sees a snail.

Maddie sees a turtle.

How about this one?

Maddie sees a dog’s head in the wind.

This cloud reminds Kiara of when she drove a go-cart on vacation last summer.

Kiara wonders if clouds have names. They decide to go inside to see Maddie’s Uncle Rufus, the meteorologist, to find out more. His job is to study weather.

Uncle Rufus, the meteorologist, is happy to show the kids the different types of clouds. He tells them the clouds outside today are cumulus clouds. Clouds can tell a lot about weather, too. He takes out his tablet to show them more.

Do these clouds look familiar? These cloud formations are called cumulus. They are puffy and fun to watch to see different shapes. When these clouds are gray, rain and thunderstorms can appear.

Here’s another type that you might see when it’s a sunny day--cirrus clouds. They are wispy like a horse’s tail. They are high in the sky.

Sometimes, on a gloomy day, you feel like the clouds are right on top of your head. They cover the whole sky and are called stratus clouds. They can also be so low they touch the ground. When this happens, it’s called fog. Look at these misty mountains covered in stratus clouds.

Maddie and Kiara are surprised to learn that there are three different types of clouds. They are excited to track the weather and see what the clouds can tell them. What do the clouds look like today where you live?